You're a human
by Fangirling Heart
Summary: When an unknown pokemon appears in Po Town,the Aether Foundation, an organization that protects pokemon, goes on a mission to find and study it, requesting the help of Professor Kukui, who sents his enthusiastic assistant, Moon, in his place because of an accident. However, no one could ever prepare the girl about what or maybe who she would meet there... a Moon X Gladion fanfic.
1. Chapter 1: What lies in Po town

**Alola! How are y'all doing? It's your girl Heart here, with my very first story about one of my most favorite videogames, "Pokemon"! (Sun and Moon, specifically, which so far is my favorite of all the pokemon games.) Before we get to the story, I gotta tell you that in this story, PoTown isn't Team Skull's stronghold, because I wanted to use it as something else and I couldn't think of any other place in the game that would fit. Either way, hope you enjoy! I own nothing.**

Chapter 1: What lies in Po Town.

It was a quiet night in Alola. At Route 17, in the Ula'Ula island two shady figures walked into the night. They must have been very brave to go there, especially at night. Or very foolish. Po town, near Route 17, was abandoned for a really long time, but for the last two years no one would go not even close to the town. Even some pokémon that lived in Route 17 abandoned the place. The reason…was a monster. A creature that nobody knew what it was. Though it was believed to be just some people's imagination, or some pokémon they didn't see well, the area was still abandoned and no one would go there. Until now.

"Yo homie, you ready?" One of them asked.

"Uh…I don't know, bro…I start to believe that this isn't a good idea…" The other who was holding a camera said, slightly stuttering.

"Yo, For real?! Are you chickening out now, homie?!"

"N-No! Of course-"

"Then stop complaining and start shooting! We gotta prove the world that when it comes to pokémon, we're the ultimate bosses!"

"I thought we came here to capture that rare pokémon. If it really is a pokemon…" he said making his partner facepalm.

"Of course, it's a pokémon! I don't believe in monsters and stuff."

"Aren't pokémon monsters?"

"Just start shooting this damn video!" The guy with the camera started shooting without another word. "Yo people! You know where we are? That's right, in Po Town! And we're gonna prove ya just how stupid you are for believing that there are monsters!"

"Seriously, aren't pokémon-"

"Shut up and keep shooting! We're going in!" The first guy said and they both walked into Po Town. While they were walking, suddenly something was heard. The two guys turned around to see nothing but darkness and empty houses. They kept going, but the same sound was heard again. However, this time they saw something. A silhouette running in the dark. "This has to be the pokémon! Let's go!" he said and they followed the silhouette only to hit a wall. "Darn! Where did it go?!"

"I-I t-think I know!" The guy with the camera said and pointed behind his partner. He turned around to see what he was pointing at and they both screamed at what they saw.

On top of a building, that seemed to be an abandoned pokémon center, was standing a half formed creature that seemed to have a human body, but one of its hands had only three large fingers that seemed to be like claws. He seemed to be entirely black into the darkness and was standing right in front of the full moon glaring at the duo with a pair of soul-piercing green eyes.

"AHHHHHHHHH! IT'S A MONSTER! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" they both called in unison and ran away.

"Boy…What on earth was THAT?!" The first guy said, when they got out of the town.

"Don't know, but it definitely wasn't a pokémon." The one with the camera said "But hey… At least we got some footage."

"Yeah, yeah…Let's just get outta here. I don't wanna see this place ever again."

And with those words they left, while from the top of Po Town's wall the creature was watching them go, sighing in relief. He jumped off and landed gracefully on the ground. Then he walked to the heart of the town, in a large mansion. As soon as he walked in, a chimera-like pokémon, that kinda resembled him ran down the central staircase and up to him.

"What are you doing awake? I thought you were asleep when I left." He said, hugging him and stroking the back of his neck.

The pokemon then backed off and made a displeased cry, like he was reprimanding him.

"I get it. You woke up for a sec, you saw that I wasn't there and you got worried. Isn't that right?" He asked and the pokemon nodded. "I'm sorry I scared you, my friend."

The chimera pokemon then started nudging him, making the same displeased cry again. The creature started pushing the pokemon back, trying to calm it down.

"I said, I'm sorry. What else do you want me to do?"

The pokemon answered with the same displeased cry.

"I know I made you a promise! I didn't break it! I never will! I'll never leave you alone, Null. Never." While he was speaking, the pokemon slowly calmed down. "Good guy. Now, let's go back to bed." He said and they both went up the stairs to bed. Both unaware of what would happen the next day.

 **And that's all for now! Hope you liked the first chapter, even though it was pretty small (Promise I'll update as soon as I can). Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2: Aether's invitation

**Hi! How are you? Hope you're having a great day! I promised I'd update soon and I think I kept that promise! Well, hope you'll like it! I own nothing**

Chapter 2: Aether's invitation.

The two guys uploaded the video later that night. Very soon it became viral. And the next morning it was on the news.

"Alola and good morning, ladies and gentlemen." The lady of the news said. "We start today's news with a story about the mysterious being that's said to reside in Po Town, of the Ula'Ula island. Though it was believed to be a rumor and nothing more, amature footage proves that it is real..." Then, they showed the shaky video.

"Well, well. Now that's what I call a news flash." A blond woman said watching the news.

"President, you really think that it could be...?" A man wearing a big pair of green glasses asked her.

"Faba, I don't think so...I know so." She said and then to another woman, who had big purple hair (if you ask me, it looked like there was a large purple cotton candy on her head.). "Wicke, tell the employees to prepare a helicopter."

"Yes, President." The woman with the cotton-candy hair said and left the room.

Meanwhile, in Melemele island, at the house of Professor Kukui, the region's pokemon professor, everyone was waking up...well...almost everyone.

"Rotom-Dex, can you go and wake up Moon for me?" The Professor asked his Rotom-Dex.

"With pleasure." Rotom-Dex said and flew up to the loft that the Professor's assistant, Moon, was using as a bedroom.

Moon was a fourteen-year-old girl, with shoulder-lenght black hair and grey eyes. For the past two years, she was living with Professor Kukui, while serving as his assistant, and for her it was a dream come true.(Unlike the dream she was having right now, the little sleepy-head.)

"MOON! Wake up! It's morning!" Rotom called out, but she simply turned to the other side of the bed. "Don't you switch sides on me, young lady! Get up this-" Before Rotom could finish, Moon threw a pillow at him, and he barely dodged it. "All right, that's it!" Rotom said and floated above the girl's head and replayed in full volume the howl of a Lycanroc.

"Waahh! FEAR MY LUGIA!" Moon called out as she fell of the bed from the shock.

"Wow, you got a Lugia,Moon? When?" The Professor joked.

"Heh. I must have been dreaming again." Moon said as she got up.

"Indeed you were. Now get dressed and come down. Breakfast's ready."

"Okay." She said, and after she got dressed, she turned to her sleeping Rowlet. "Rise and shine, little buddy. Wake up." She said srtoking its head, and it woke up.

"Koo koo!" It cried happily and flew to the girl's shoulder.

After having breakfast, Moon, Rowlet and Professor Kukui headed to the lower floor to do some research on the moves of pokemon.

"Rowlet, use razor leaf!" Moon called out and Rowlet sent a barrage of leaves against Professor's Rockruff.

"Rockruff, dodge it and use bite!" He called out, but Rowlet's attack was so fast, that Rockruff couldn't dodge it. When it seemed that it was over, it jumped over to where Rowlet was standing to attack it, but much to its surprise Rowlet was not there.

"Now Rowlet! Use peck." Rowlet appeared behind Rockruff and attacked with peck.

"Wow! That was some attack!"

"Thanks, Professor." Moon replied.

"Koo koo!" Rowlet cried happily hearing this.

While it was pretty strong, for some reason Rowlet couldn't evolve and constantly thought that it wasn't strong enough for it. So hearing such thing meant a lot to it. The battle was about to continue, when Rotom interrupted them.

"Professor, you have a videocall."He said.

"All right. I'm coming. Moon, could you tidy this place a bit?" Professor Kukui asked her.

"Sure thing." Moon said and started cleaning the place, while the Professor went up tho answer.

"That should do it." the girl said happy that she finished the cleaning soon and went up the stairs. "Professor, I've finished-" She stopped when she noticed that he was still having a video call. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were done." she said and was ready to leave.

"No, don't sweat it. Come here. There's someone I want you to meet." he said and Moon sat next to him on the couch. "This is Lusamine. President of the Aether Foundation, an organization dedicated to the protection of pokemon." He said and gestured to the woman he was videochatting with.

Lusamine had long blond hair and green eyes and she was wearing a white dress with a black ornament. Moon recognized her right away.

"You must be Moon, Professor Kukui's assistant. I'm glad to finally meet you." She said.

"So am I. I've read about your work. It's amazing to think how much you're doing for pokemon." Moon said.

"Thank you. It's nice to know that my work is appreciated." Lusamine said with a smile. "How about you? Are you interested in pokemon?"

"Yes. I think they are really fascinating creatures, capable of wondrous things. I want to learn everything about them. It's my dream."

"A lovely dream may I add. In that case, I think you should listen too, to what I have to tell Professor Kukui."

"Sure."

"All right. First of all, you know about that strange creature in Po Town, right?"

"Of course. The rumors about that thing are crazy." the Professor said.

"But they're just rumors. There's no way that thing is real." Moon said.

"What if there is?" Lusamine said and showed them a blurry picture of it (screenshot from the video). Professor Kukui and Moon's eyes widened looking at the picture.

"WHOA! You're kidding, right?!" he asked.

"Doesn't look like it." Lusamine answered.

"So, it's...it's real?!" Moon asked unable to believe it.

"Indeed it is. And that's the reason I called." Lusamine said and turned to the Professor. "Professor Kukui, I'd like to ask you on behalf of the Aether Foundation, to join me and my stuff on a mission to find and study this extraordinary creature."

Moon's jaw dropped hearing this. Like Lusamine asked her to join.

"Well, when someone asks you such thing there's only one answer: Yes." The Professor said.

"Excelent. We'll come to pick you up in two hours." Lusamine said.

"Okay. Bye for now."

"Goodbye, Professor, Moon. It was nice talking to you." She said and ended the call.

"Well what do you know. Turns out you can never know what's real and what's not, right Moon?" The professor asked his assistant, who looked like she was in the seventh heaven.

"I know! I can't believe that this pokemon is actually real!" She said excitedly. "I wonder what type it is! It could be a new dark type pokemon, since it was seen in the night! Or maybe a ghost type! Or perhaps a fairy type, because we still don't know everything about that new type...Oh! Or what if it's a completely new type?! Or some super ancient pokemon we haven't known about?! Or even a **legendary pokemon**?! THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!"

"Geez, Moon, relax a bit. I haven't seen you this ecstatic since the fairy type was classified."

"Sorry, I just... I guess I got too excited." Moon said rubbing her head nervously.

Suddenly a crash was heard from the lower floor.

"What's going on down there?" The Professor asked, when Moon just remembered.

"I left Rowlet and Rockruff alone downstairs. They must be training again." She said.

"I'll go check on them. Moon, could you prepare my stuff for the trip?" Professor Kukui asked.

"All right." Moon said.

 **All right! That's all for now. See you next time. Please review. :)**


	3. Chapter 3: An accident

Chapter 3: An accident.

Moon was preparing the Professor's bag for the trip with a wide smile on her face, trying to ignore her slight disappointment. Whatever that pokemon in Po Town was, it could be one of the greatest discoveries the world had ever known, and she wouldn't be there to see it and research it herself. Not that she claimed herself to be a real researcher, she just wanted to be one more than anything. Well, she could ask the Professor if she could come with him, of course, but Lusamine asked just for him to come. Still, would she really be a burden if she came along? She was the Professor's assistant after all. Suddenly a loud crash and a scream were heard downstairs. Moon immediately ran down and saw Professor Kukui clutching his left foot, Rowlet and Rockruff beside him with worried looks on their faces and the entire room a complete mess.

"Professor! Are you alright?! What happened here?!" She asked rushing to his side.

"Rowlet and Rockruff were training..." He explained. "And they were so absorbed in it, that they would probably bring the whole place down, if they didn't stop. I tried to break them up and then-" He winced as he tried to get up with Moon's help.

"Then what?!" She asked worried.

"I think Rockruff hit my leg with rock throw accidentally."

"WHAT?! I need to get you to the pokémon center now!" she said and helped him up.

After a several amount of time, they got up the stairs and then out of the house, with Rockruff and Rowlet following. Moon then, using her poke pager, called a Tauros and after getting the Professor on it they headed for the nearest pokémon center.

While Nurse Joy was examining the Professor's injured foot, Moon was waiting at the hall with the two pokémon. She looked at them. They both looked worried and guilty. A part of her wanted to reprimand them for what happened at the lab, but watching them like that, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. So she remained silent. Some time later, Nurse Joy came to them.

"Nurse Joy! Is the Professor okay?" Moon asked as the two pokémon walked next to her.

"His foot is broken, but it's nothing too serious. Though, he'll have to stay here for some time." Nurse Joy said.

Moon's eyes widened hearing this. If the Professor had to stay at the pokémon center, then he wouldn't be able to go at the research mission to Po Town. Even though it wasn't as important as the Professor's well-being, it still bugged her.

"Can we see him?" She asked.

"Of course." Nurse Joy said and let Moon, Rowlet and Rockruff in the Professor's room.

"Alola." He said smiling. Rockruff and Rowlet immediately rushed to his bed. They were both whining loudly, like they were trying to apologize for what happened. "Hey, guys no need to fret. It's no big deal."

"Personally, I think it is." Moon said. "Because of your injured foot, you'll be unable to go to the mission in Po Town."

"Moon, there's no problem with that. I'll just call Lusamine and-"

"There **is** a problem! A mission of such importance shouldn't be missed at any cost!"

"Uhhh…aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

"NO! This is an opportunity that happens once in a lifetime! We really mustn't miss it!" She called out.

"Moon, you can see it yourself, I can't go-" Professor Kukui said as an idea came to his mind. "Wait a second…I got it!"

"Got what?" Moon asked.

"Moon, you should go in my place!"

"WHAT?!" Moon exclaimed. "That...That would be amazing! I so absolutely want to go!" She called out excitedly, but quickly covered her mouth, when she realised what she said. "But... I can't go. Miss Lusamine asked for you, it's just not right."

"But I can't go like that. And besides, you said it yourself. We mustn't miss a chance like this."

"Yeah, but...what could I really offer? I don't have the necessary experience for such mission."

"Are you kidding? Moon, your knowledge about pokemon, their moves and their habits is nearly as good as mine, if not Rotom's." Professor Kukui said in an attempt to give her confidence.

"I can hear you, you know." Rotom said from Moon's bag. "But it's kinda true."

"See? Even Rotom agrees. I'm telling you, if there's any person I know who should go in my place, that person is you. So, what do you say?"

The girl was skeptical for a moment. But she was starting to think that the Professor could be right. She's been living with him for two years, learning everything he knew and learning more things on her own. She really knew a lot of things by now. As for her experience... it was time she started gaining some.

"All right. I'll go!" She said with a determined smile on her face.

Professor Kukui and the pokemon cheered at her decision.

"What do you say, buddy? Will you make me the honor of joining me?" She asked her Rowlet, who happily flew to her shoulder.

"You better hurry. Lusamine may arrive soon." The Professor said.

"WHAT?!" The girl exclaimed and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. There were only twenty minutes left for Lusamine's arrival at best "I HAVE TO GO PACK MY THINGS ASAP! GOTTA GO! BYE PROFESSOR! GET WELL SOON! I'LL BE CALLING YOU EVERYDAY!" She called out as she ran out of the room.

"Good luck!" He called out, unsure if she heard him.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4: First impressions

Chapter 4: First impressions.

Moon was in her loft preparing her stuff. But she was so anxious that she wouldn't have time, that she was practically throwing everything she found in her drawers into her bag. She even got a sparkly pink dress her mother bought her from Sinnoh.

"Seriously, when are you gonna wear that?" Rotom asked.

Moon glanced at the dress for a moment and said "A girl must always be prepared."

"For what? Is that pokemon in Po Town gonna ask you on a date?" He asked sarcastically.

"Where did you learn sarcasm?"

"You make a pretty good teacher."

"Oh, leave me alone." She said with a huff.

Suddenly a loud noise was heard from the outside.

"What's going on out there?" Rotom asked.

"A helicopter must be landing." Moon said casually, when a realization hit her. "HELICOPTER?! It must be Miss Lusamine!" She exclaimed and closed her bag, in which she had put nearly her entire dresser.

Then she got down of the loft and went for the door, as the doorbell rang. She opened and saw Lusamine. She was wearing a white short dress and a black ornament around her neck. She was also wearing a pair of black and white leggings and a pair of boots with a medium height heel of the same color. Next to her was a girl with long blond hair and bright green eyes that seemed to be the same age as Moon. She was wearing a white dress, a pair of long white socks and shoes of the same color and a large white hat. She was also holding a big round bag.

"Miss Lusamine. Alola." Moon said.

"Alola, Moon." Lusamine said with a smile. "Allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Lillie."She gestured at the girl next to her. "Lillie, this is Moon. Professor Kukui's assistant."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Moon." Lillie said and made a small respectfull bow.

"Likewise." the black-haired girl said.

"Ahem." Rotom said as he and Rowlet appeared behind Moon.

"Oh, and these are Rotom-Dex and my partner, Rowlet."

"Pleased to meet you Miss Lusamine, young Miss Lillie." Rotom said

"Kooo!" Rowlet said cheerfully and landed on his trainer's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you both." Lillie said smiling.

"Uumm...Miss Lusamine...I know you asked Professor Kukui to join you in this mission, but..." Moon began

"It's alright, my child. He called me and explained me what happened." Lusamine said.

"So..."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Ahh...Yes! Yes!" Moon said excitedly.

"Ummm...Before we go...could I have a glass of water?" Lillie asked and Lusamine gave her a small glare.

"Can't it wait, Lillie?" Her mother asked.

"There's no problem. Come on in." Moon said and she and Lillie went inside. The latter walked a little faster.

"So, Moon...you live here? With the Professor?"Lillie asked.

"Yes." Moon answered.

"And what about your family? If you don't mind me asking!"

"My mother lives in Kanto. She's really busy with her work." Moon said as she gave Lillie a glass of water.

"Thank you." Lillie said as she accepted it. "For how long have you been the Professor's assistant?"

"Uummm...For about two years."

"Two years, huh?" Lillie said with a surprised expression, which was replaced by a saddened one.

"Lillie? Is everything okay?" Moon asked worriedly

"Oh! Y-yes, it is..." the blond girl said trying to sound casual.

"You sure?"

"I-it's just... It's been two years, since I heard from someone really important to me." She said as she drank a little water.

"Two years? Why? What happened?"

"Are you two ready now?" Lusamine asked, interrupting the two girls.

"Yes mother." Lillie said as she walked outside and into the helicopter with fast step, leaving Moon bewildered.

"Moon, what's wrong?" Lusamine asked noticing.

"Nothing, it's just that Lillie seemed kinda off." The black-haired girl said.

"She's simply a little shy. That's all."

"But...she told me something about someone important to her."

For a moment, Lusamine got a shocked expression, but she quickly changed it."What did she tell you exactly?" She asked.

"That they lost touch two years ago. She seemed really upset about it." Moon answered.

"Well, it's nothing important. A friend of hers just moved away to another region two years ago and after that they lost touch. I don't really know why."

"They must have been really close, if Lillie got so upset."

"Yes, they were." Lusamine said in a tone that was half angry half sad. However her face soon became happy again. "Well, enough with this. Shall we?" She said as she and the girl walked outside and to the helicopter.

There, except for Lillie and the pilot, were two other people. A man and a woman. The man had grey hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white outfit with green bracers on his hands and a pair of big green sunglasses. As soon as Lusamine and Moon walked in, he looked at the latter with a sour and snobbish expression. The woman had yellow eyes and large purple hair. She was wearing a pink sweater and a white outfit, kinda similar to the man's, and a pair of pink glasses. Unlike the man she had a warm and happy smile on her face.

"Pardon me, President, but what is this? I thought we came here to pick up Professor Kukui's assistant." The man asked looking at Moon, who felt slightly offended.

" **This** is the Professor's assistant, Moon."

"A child? Assistant to the region's Professor?" The man said looking at the girl with a critical eye. "Well, that should have been expected from a man so crude that can't even wear a shirt."

"Faba!" Lusamine said sternly and the man got silent immediately.

Moon was infuriated to say the least, but she knew that she had to act professionally. She was part of the mission now. So she took a breath and said "I understand that you may have doubts about what I could offer in this mission, because of my age and lack of experience. But if you give me a chance, I can prove that my help will be more than valuable."

"That is true. Moon's knowledge about pokemon is nearly as exceptional as mine. And I'm a pokedex." Rotom said as he got into the helicopter too.

"Then your help is more than welcome, Moon." The purple-haired woman said. "I'm Wicke and this is Faba."

"Ahem." Faba said glaring at Wicke

"Oh, I mean Aether Branch Chief Faba."

"Much better. Now that we're done with the introductions can we go?"

"Yes sir." The pilot said and the helicopter took off.

Moon was looking outside of the window smiling widely. Rowlet nudged gently his trainer who turned to look to him and said "This is it, Rowlet. We're off to our very first research mission!"

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Arrival in Route 17

Chapter 5: Arrival in Route 17

During the entire flight, Moon was looking outside of the window, at several pokémon flying in the sky. Soon they reached Ula'Ula Island and they landed at Route 17. As they left the helicopter, Moon was doing her best not to start fangirling all around, and she was actually doing a pretty good job.

"Here we are." Lusamine said, looking around with a smile on her face.

"President, what's that over there?" Faba asked pointing at large trailer that was facing the gate of Po Town.

"Faba, isn't it obvious? It's a trailer. Where are we going to stay?" Lusamine answered.

"S-Stay?!" Faba exclaimed. "But why do we need to stay here?! With all…all the…"

"Faba isn't a big fan of outdoors, or nature in general." Lillie whispered to Moon.

"So, he doesn't have pokémon either?" The black-haired girl whispered back.

"He has. Sometimes I wonder how." Lillie whispered, making Moon giggle.

"What was that?!" Faba asked as he heard the girl's giggling.

"N-Nothing. I coughed." Moon lied. "Mr. Faba, I agree with Miss Lusamine. We don't know how long it will take us to find that pokémon. If it was able to stay hidden all this time, then finding it surely won't be easy. Especially now that it was seen. It could have gotten somewhere deeper to hide. Not to mention that even if we find, it could be hard to restrain it."

"That's exactly what I've been thinking. I think we're going to get along pretty well." Lusamine said and Moon smiled hearing her comment.

"Even so, there's no way I'm staying here!" Faba exclaimed.

"That's exactly what I was about to say." A voice was heard.

Everyone turned around and a man that seemed to be at least fifty years old walking towards them. He had grey hair and red eyes and he was wearing a red shirt, a black jacket with a yellow emblem on each side, long black pants and a pair of black sandals. He was also wearing a black necklace around his neck.

"Kahuna Nanu." Lusamine said, as the man reached them. "So nice to see you."

"Likewise." Nanu said with a grumpy expression on his face.

"You don't seem very glad to see us here, kahuna." Faba spat.

"Probably because you don't look like someone I'd be glad to see." Nanu said.

"How dare you talk to me like that!?"

"I'm the island kahuna. This is my island. And more importantly, this is my neighborhood. So, I have the right to talk to anyone however I want."

"Wow…you actually used tour title as a kahuna?! Someone better make a note of this." Faba said mockingly.

"The fact that I used my title must mean how much I hate your presence here. Speaking of which…what are y'all doing here?"

"We came for the pokémon in Po Town." Moon said.

"For what?" Nanu asked. "And I thought you guys were doing serious job. With the protection of pokémon and stuff…Yet now I see you bringing your kids in an excursion to see something that doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?" Lusamine said trying to keep her cool "Haven't you heard the news this morning? Haven't you even heard what happened here last night?" Your residence isn't very far away from here, if I recall correctly."

"To both questions the answer is 'no'." The kahuna said. "Last night, actually I heard two girls screaming. Their shrieks woke me up. I went to see why they were so disturbing and I saw the lock for Po Town's gates on the ground. So I replaced it with another one this morning. And then I went to sleep again. Until your helicopter woke me up."

Faba and Moon went to examine the lock.

"That's a lock of really high security." Moon said examining it.

"Why would you use such a lock for a ghost town, Nanu? Is there any possibility… you have something you want to hide in there?" Faba said glaring at the man.

"Mr. Faba! That's enough! You're being disrespectful!" Moon said in a reprimanding tone.

"Ha! A child giving **me** a talk about respect?!" Faba said mockingly, angering Moon.

Suddenly, Rowlet, who was just as angered as his trainer after hearing this, flew directly to the man and started attacking him multiple times with peck.

"GET THIS THING OFF ME! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Faba kept yelling as Rowlet was attacking him.

"Rowlet! Stop it! Calm down!" Moon said trying to get her pokémon off the man.

After some effort she managed to take Rowlet off him.

"What was that?!" Faba yelled "Don't you know how to control this creature?! Some trainer you are! But what else should I expect from a child-"

"Listen to me you old coot, because it seems that this is the only language you understand, I may know you for just a few hours, but I've had enough of your insults to last me a lifetime!" Moon called out exasperated "I believe I should have actually let Rowlet peck at you a little more!"

"Faba, Moon, that's **enough!** " Lusamine called out, stopping the argument.

Hearing her, Lillie flinched. She knew how her mother was when she was getting mad, and she really wished she wouldn't get mad now.

"That's enough! You're both acting like babies!" Lusamine continued in a calm yet scolding tone. "Faba, you're my branch chief. I expect a lot from you generally and especially in this mission. Yet you're acting like a spoiled four-year-old. Apologize to Moon and don't repeat this." Hearing her words, the man bowed his head in shame and muttered an apology to the girl, who looked at him with a proud grin. "And Moon, I understand that this is your first mission and that Faba can be a little…difficult, but still this is job and in job professionalism must always come first. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Miss Lusamine." Moon said.

"That's nice. And you don't have to call me 'Miss', my child. You can call me just 'Lusamine'." The blond woman said. "Now, I believe that you should speak to your pokémon, like I just spoke to you."

"Yes." Moon said as she walked a little farther.

However, before she started speaking she noticed something moving in the trees.

"Is this…?" She wondered loud and walked to see it better.

As she walked she noticed a creature that looked nothing like any other pokemon she had seen before.

"The pokemon of Po Town!" She exclaimed and ran after it, with Rowlet flying behind her.

"Rowlet, use peck!" She called out, but as Rowlet was about to hit it, it moved and Rowlet's beak stuck on the branch. "You okay, buddy?" Moon asked as Rowlet unstuck himself, and they kept pursuing the pokemon, but it was so fast, that Moon could barely keep up. "Rowlet, go and attack it! Try to slow it down! Don't worry, I'll catch up with you soon!"

Obeying his trainer, Rowlet sped up and managed to catch up with the pokemon. Soon Moon reached where they were, but she found only her partner all beat-up on the ground.

"ROWLET! Are you all right?" she asked worriedly as she got him in her arms. She raised her head and noticed the pokemon running away.

"Moon!" A voice called out. Moon turned around and saw Lusamine, Lillie, Faba, Wicke and Nanu running up to her. "Are you okay?" Lusamine asked.

"Why did you run off like that?" Wicke asked

"And what happened to Rowlet?"Lillie asked.

"We...We saw it..." Moon said. "We saw that pokemon."

"YOU SAW IT?!" Lusamine and Faba exclaimed in unison.

"And you didn't catch it?!" Faba yelled at the girl.

"We tried! We ran after it, but it was too fast. I sent Rowlet to attack it, but it nearly knocked him out with probably just one attack." Moon explained as she used a potion on her pokemon to heal it.

"You said you saw it. Can you tell us what it looked like?" Lillie asked.

"Unfortunately, no. I couldn't make out much it was hiding on the trees."

"You useless-" Faba began, but stopped once Lusamine gave him an angry glare.

"Moon, where did it go? Did you saw?" Lusamine asked.

"I saw it going this way." Moon said and pointed towards Route 16.

"It looks like we have to search the entire island now. It could be going anywhere."

"All right."

"No. Moon you and Wicke are going to stay here."

"What?! But why?" Moon called out, trying not to freak out.

"I need you two to stay here, in case it comes back. Me, Faba and Lillie will go search the rest of the island."

"Umm...mother, would it be all right if I stayed here too?" Lillie asked.

"But don't you want to come with me, my dear?" Lusamine asked "Like we used to do when you were younger?"

"I-I...I just want to-"

"Lillie, relax my dear." Lusamine said, surprising her daughter. "Of course you can stay. But only if you promise me that you'll behave."

"Y-yes, mother. I promise." Lillie said.

"All right. Then me and Faba will be off. Remember if anything happens give me a call."

"Okay." Moon said as Lusamine and Faba left.

"President, what was that all about?!" Faba asked when they had gotten pretty far.

"Whay are you talking about Faba?" She asked.

"You left this child there! Why did you do that? Why did you even left her come in the first place? And why did you call Professor Kukui before?"

"I explained you before, Faba. I wanted the Professor in this mission because he knows pokemon, their habits and the way they think, better than anyone in Alola and in case what just happened had happened he could help. But now that Moon came in his place,I think things got better."

"Why better?"

"She is young, enthusiastic and inexperienced. So, she'll just follow orders without much question. We'll go around the island and search for it, and if it returns to the Town, she'll contact us immediately. She won't try anything herself."

"How can you be so sure? What if he-"

" **HE**?!" Lusamine asked angrily.

"I'm sorry. What if **it** finds her and speaks to her?"

"Hahaha! Faba, don't be silly!" Lusamine laughed. "You're really overestimating it. It has lived two years away from the civilazation, with the only living creature around him being a genetic abomination. I'm sure it will have forgotten how to walk on two feet. Much less talk." And with those words she kept moving, as Faba followed her with a sinister smile on his face.

"Oh, I hope so." He muttered to himself.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6: The creature's den

Chapter 6: The creature's den

After Lusamine and Faba left, Moon, Lillie and Wicke got back to the entrance of Po Town. When they got there, Moon noticed that Rowlet looked pretty sad.

"Rowlet? What's wrong?" She asked consolingly.

"Kooo..." Rowlet said in a dissapointed tone, glancing towards Route 16

"Wait a sec, you're like that beacause that pokemon beat you up?" Moon asked and Rowlet answered with a nod. "Rowlet, we've been through this. Losing a battle doesn't necessarily mean that you're weak. And especially in this specific case. Because you fought against an opponent that, not just we, but everyone else know nearly nothing about. If there's someone to blame... then it's me. I'm your trainer, I should have been with you. Not send you to attack an opponent like that alone. It was a mistake, but it won't happen again. Right now we need to focus on our mission, and I'm sure not only that we'll find that pokemon, but that you'll also have a chance for a rematch."

"Koo koo!" Rowlet said smiling and flew to his trainer's hug.

"Okay! Okay!" Moon said laughing"Now, let's go back." She said and walked to the trailer, as Rowlet flew to her shoulder.

"Moon, is everything okay?" Lillie asked.

"Yeah. So, what happened here?"

"Wicke spoke with kahuna Nanu. He said that we can stay and do our research, as long as we don't annoy him." Lillie explained.

"And where is she now?" Moon asked, noticing that Wicke wasn't there.

"She went to check the trailer and make a call back at Aether Paradise."

"It's all set in there, girls." Wicke said with a smile as she walked out of the trailer. "I also called at Aether Paradise to ask some members of the staff to come and keep a look-out for the pokemon. That way we'll cover more space."

"But if other people come from Aether Paradise, then what are we gonna do?" Moon asked.

"We're still going to keep an eye for the pokemon. But with more people, as I said before, we'll be able to cover more ground. Also, they'll be on guard during the night, when you and Lillie will be asleep."

"Right..." Moon said feeling dissapoined.

She couldn't help it. She felt like everyone was seeing her as a failure from the exact moment the mission started, because she couldn't catch the pokemon. And the worst part was the fact that she started seeing herself like that too. Maybe Faba was right calling her useless before...No, she couldn't think like that. She had to pull herself together and prove that she could help. And she would have done it...if ten minutes later a storm hadn't broke out. Things were just keep getting worse. And all she could do at the moment was staring out of the window at the gates to Po Town, as the storm outside kept getting stronger.

"That's a really big storm." Lillie said to Moon, who looked like she barely moved from the window.

"Yeah." Moon said as she looked at Lillie for a moment, before turning her attention outside again.

"Moon, you've been staring outside nearly all day. It's nearly midnight."

"I have to be on guard. The pokemon could head back to Po Town now that we're inside." Moon said looking outside.

"Aren't you overreacting?"

"NO! Why do everyone always ask me this question?" Moon said with exasperation.

"You mean they ask you this question usualy? I can't imagine why?" Lillie asked with a slight sarcasm in her voice. It nearly surprised her, but she didn't receive an answer.

"I'll go to sleep later. For now, I'm not sleepy." She said after a moment of silence.

"Okay. Goodnight." Lillie said and went to bed, while Moon stayed where she was.

Some time later, however, she fell asleep. When suddenly a loud thunder shook her from her sleep. When she sat back to her place she noticed something. The pokemon. It had jumped to the top of the wall and then into the town. Moon, after seeing this, immediately stood up, grabbed her bag, a coat and an umbrella and ran outside. Rowlet saw her going out and flew behind her. Moon stood at the gates trying to unlock them, when Rowlet caught up with her. He grabbed her coat and started pulling it.

"Rowlet! What are you doing?" She asked, surprised by her partners behavior.

"I think he's trying to tell you to get back inside." Rotom said as he poked his head out of the girl's bag and Rowlet nodded. "I honestly agree with him. If you saw something you should tell Miss Wicke. You shouldn't go in there alone. It could be dangerous."

"No. I have to do this alone. I screwed up before. It's my fault the pokemon got away, so I must be the one who catches it." She said as she managed to unlock the gates.

"How did you manage to unlock that lock?"

"We had a lock like that in our home at Kanto." Moon said and walked inside the Town, as a figure with a characteristic smirk watched her go.

"Hope the kid knows what kind of mess she's getting herself into..." he said.

As soon as Moon walked in, everything around her seemed darker. The sky, the surroundings...everything. Even the already heavy rain was stronger. She started walking with small steps into the darkness, with the light of the lightnings lighting the way. She looked at the abandoned houses around her. Even though she knew that they where nothing bu empty buildings, they seemed threatening to her. She felt like they were watching her every move. A loud thunder was suddenly sound. Scared from its sound, Moon fell to her knees covering her ears. Rowlet, who got scared too hid into the girl's bag. While Moon was trying to pull herself together and keep moving, a roar was heard from a large mansion.

"There's our target!" the girl muttered smirking and ran to the mansion.

However, when she got there, she didn't walk in.

"What are you doing? Are we gonna head back?" Rotom asked quietly.

"No. I'm waiting." She answered.

"For what?"

A thunder then was heard and at that very moment, Moon walked inside.

"So you waited for the thunder so its sound would cover the sound if the opening door! Brilliant!" Rotom whispered.

"I know. Now hush!" Moon whispered back and shoved him in her back.

The walls of the room were full of claw-marks and they were big and deep. Furniture, broken and not, was lying around and on a small table was an old lamp, which was lighting the room dim.

 _I wonder...who could have lighten up this lamp?_ Moon thought, when suddenly a strange cry was heard from upstairs.

"I told you it's best if we stay put for now. Besides if we try to leave now, with a storm like this, we'll end up in the bottom of the sea." A boy's voice was also heard.

 _There's someone up there?_ Moon thought and as quietly as she could she walked up the stairs, towards the voice.

Suddenly the same strange cry she heard before was heard again behind the first door from the east side of the staircase. Moon peered into the keyhole and saw two figures lying on a big bed. The girl couldn't make out much since the room was pretty dark, but she could tell that the one was the figure of a boy, who appeared to be one or two years older than her, while the other seemed to be the figure of a big pokemon that she definitely had never seen before. It seemed to have something like a large mask on it's head, but still, she couldn't make out much.

"We'll leave tomorrow night. For now calm down. We won't get back there again. I'll make sure of that." The boy said stroking the pokemon's head. The pokemon leaned to his touch, breathing heavily. Its breathing sounded unnatural, but at the same time calm.

Moon couldn't help but smile in this moment if tenderness between those two, but she had so many questions. Who was that boy and his pokemon? What was he talking about? What was he doing in Po Town and where was the pokemon she came to find. Judging by the silhouette of the pokemon she saw in the room there was no way it was the pokemon of Po Town. She turned around and decided to go search the rest of the mansion, when accidentally she stepped on some broken lumber on the floor.

"Someone's there!" The boy said and he and the pokemon ran outside and saw Moon running for the exit.

Before she could reach the door, he caught up with her and tackled her to the ground.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" He demanded to know pinning her down.

Moon gasped in fear when she looked at him. His left hand was green and its lower half had three large talons. His legs were covered by black fur and he was wearing a black torn hoodie. His hair was blond and it was covering half of his pale face. He also had scars in many parts of his body and was staring angrily at the girl with a green eye that seemed like it was glowing in the dark.

 _That...that boy...His body, his face...No...Could **he** be the pokemon of Po Town? _Moon thought.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Get in

Chapter 7: Get in.

"I asked you! Who are you?!" The boy asked her again angrily.

"Who are **you**?" Moon asked with her eyes wide.

"I ask the questions here!"

"Why's that?"

"Wouldn't you do the same if you saw me peering in your keyhole in the middle of the night?" he asked growling slightly.

"Uhhh...I can see your point..." Moon managed to answer.

"Then answer me!"

"My name is Moon. I came here with the Aether Foundation on a mission to research...apparently...you." The girl said, trying to keep her cool.

At the mention of the Aether Foundation, the boy's pokemon started acting restlessly. He immediately got off Moon and rushed to his pokemon.

"Null, calm down! Easy, easy..."He said trying to calm him down.

Moon knew that this was her chance to run for it, but she couldn't. Her curiosity had taken the best of her. She looked at the pokemon. Its body and hind legs were black and on it had purple scales on its upper hips. Its front legs were green and at their edge had three large talons. It also had a blue fon as a tail and grey fur covering its neck. A large brown helmet, that seemed to be made of metal, was covering its entire head and a ring, that seemed pretty familiar to Moon, was around its neck. She could barely see its eyes, but noticed that they were grey. Looking at it and the boy, she noticed that they looked pretty similar. The boy's left arm was exactly like the pokemon's front legs, and his body and legs were exactly like the pokemon's too.

 _Why do they look so much alike? What are they?_ Moon thought.

The pokemon kept acting restlessly, pushing the boy away.

"Null, look at me!" He called out and turned the pokemon to him. "It's all right. You know we're safe here, don't you?" He said in a more calm tone.

The pokemon answered with a nod as it finally calmed down. The boy smiled at it and then turned his attention to Moon again.

"Why do I feel that this is awkward?" Moon asked.

"Probably because it is." He answered. "Get up."

"Why should I?"

"Because I said so."

"What a great answer." Moon said sarcastically, but stood up.

"Follow me." The boy said and went for the stairs.

"Yeah...I don't think so..."She said, realizing that something fishy was up, and turned to leave, but the pokemon blocked her way.

"I don't think you have a choice."

"Wanna bet on that? Rowlet, come out!" She yelled, opened her bag and Rowlet flew out of it, ready to battle.

However, as soon as he saw his opponent, he got scared and hid behind his trainer.

"Rowlet, pull yourself together! You have to battle!" Moon said decisively, and Rowlet answered with a nod.

He got in front of her in a battle stance.

"Use razor leaf! Now!" The girl called out and Rowlet immediately started shooting his opponent with a barrage of sharp leaves.

But, the unknown pokemon quickly countered Rowlet's attack with air slash. Using the smoke that the counter caused to his advantage, Rowlet flew in to ambush the pokemon, but instead he was the one caught by surprise, as it attacked him from behind with another air slash. Rowlet fell on the ground. He tried to stand up, but couldn't.

"Rowlet!" Moon exclaimed and got her partner in her arms.

"You lost." the boy said as he started walking up the stairs. "Now, come."

Reluctantly, Moon followed him to the west side of the staircase, outside of a door. He opened it to reveal a small bedroom.

"What is that?" Moon asked.

"Your room." The boy answered.

"MY WHAT?!" She exclaimed.

"Would you rather sleep in the kitchen?"

"Why on earth should I sleep here?!"

"Because, there's no way I'm letting you go tell Aether that you found us." He said and looked at the girl angrily.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not staying here!"

"You lost the battle, and your pokemon can't fight. How do you plan to get away?"

"Watch me!" Moon said and tried to run past him, but he grabbed her elbow and pulled her back.

Much to the girl's surprise, however, he didn't do it with force. But she noticed that he was sweating.

"Are you always this infuriating or am I just unlucky?" He asked raising his voice.

"And are you always this charming or am I just lucky?" She asked back sarcastically.

"It won't be for long. Tommorow night, when we'll leave, I'll let you go." He said, ignoring her question, trying to look calm.

"Tommorow? I don't think that you'll be able to leave then."

"Why's that?"

"By tommorow, people from Aether will arrive and they'll be everywhere around the town and Route 17 and even Route 16 probably."

"WHAT?!" He called out unable to keep his cool anymore.

He turned away from the girl hiding his face in his hands and taking deep breaths, that slowly started turning into growls. Moon started getting scared, and held Rowlet tighter in her arms.

"Get...inside..." He said with his voice shaking.

"A-Are you all-" Moon tried to say.

"I SAID GET INSIDE!" He called out and suddenly turned to look at her. His eye instead of green had gotten all red, and Moon could have sworn that it was glowing.

Scared, she quicky ran into the bedroom slamming the door behind her and bringing an old table, that was there, to barricade it. Then she immediately jumped to the bed holding Rowlet even tighter and taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Outside of the room, she could hear screaming, roars and stuff breaking. It sounded like a battle was going on out there.

"W-W-WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?!" Rotom asked freaking out as he poked his head out of Moon's bag.

"I-I-I don't know..." Moon stuttered and slowly got up to take a look, at least a measly one.

But as she tried to get up, Rowlet started acting restlessly, like he was trying to warn her to stay where she was. However, she continued, she removed the table and as she opemed the door... a table came at her flying. With a scream she slammed the door, and the table crashed against it.

"Let's not open the door, until it gets quiet out there, okay?!" She said with a freaked out face and her two companions nodded in agreement.

Some time later, it started getting quieter, until all that could be heard was complete silence. Moon peered her head out of the door and saw the place even more messed up than it was before, nearly all the furniture was lying around in pieces the claw marks on the walls were even more. The tapestry of one of the walls had fallen completely apart, and the lamp that was lighting the place had broke too, so it was pretty dark. In the middle of the room she could make out the silhouettes of the boy and his pokemon. The boy looked very weak and was lying on the floor. It was hard to tell if he was concious or not. The pokemon was lying next to him, like it was giving him comfort and protection.

"I...I lost it again...didn't I?" The boy asked his pokemon weakly. "Did I hurt you?" He asked again in a more worried tone.

The pokemon shook its head, but looking at it the boy, even though it was pretty dark, could tell that it was lying to him.

"I'm sorry. I should have been able to control it... Guess I'm still not strong enough..." The boy muttered, regretful and frustrated.

His pokemon gently nuzzled its head against his, trying to sound as calming as it could, to make him stop beating himself up. Seeing him doing this to himself was always making it sad.

Moon, kept watching the scene with curiosity. Those two were really aggresive towards her and Rowlet, with the peak of that aggression being the whole scary reaction upstairs, but now they nearly looked like family. And this whole situation to Moon... was intriguing to say the least.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Making a deal

Chapter 8: Making a deal.

Moon walked down the stairs towards the boy and is pokemon, despite Rowlet and Rotom's attempts to convince her to stay inside.

"Hey...You okay?" She asked looking at them.

She could tell that they were both hurt pretty badly. The boy's right arm seemed to be bleeding. As soon as they noticed her, the big pokemon immediately stood protectively in front of the boy growling. Moon gulped and took a few steps back, but she tried not to show any fear.

"I'm fine..." The boy said weakly, as he tried to get up, but gave out.

"Yeah, I can see that."Moon said sarcastically "I think I can help you." she said and tried to walk to the boy past the pokemon, but it blocked her way again.

"No, thanks."

"What do you mean 'No thanks'?" Moon asked.

"Exactly what I said. I don't want your help!" He said glaring at her.

"You may not want my help, but that doesn't change the fact that you need it! So stop acting like you're above me, swallow your damn pride and let me tend your wound, before it gets infected!" Moon called out.

Hearing her words, the boy's pokemon stepped aside. It was surprised by Moon's persistence to help his friend. It didn't actually have the best memories of most of the humans it had met before and thus its impression of them wasn't the best possible. And now watching a human display such willingness to help was a first for it.

The boy looked at his pokemon and then at Moon surprised.

He sighed and said "All right...Come tend the wounds, or...whatever."

Moon made her way to him and kneeled next to him.

"I need light." She said and opened her bag. "Rotom, if you please." She said and Rotom cowardly and excitedly at the same time flew out of her bag. "And please no pictures."

Rotom frowned but shed some light, like Moon asked.

"HOLY ARCEUS!" Moon exclaimed as soon as she saw the wound.

It seemed deep and large. the boy's entire arm was red and it was hard to tell if it was just covered in blood or if all of it was hurt.

"Okay, okay... First, I need to clean it up." Moon said "I need water...and a rag."

Hearing her, Rowlet jumped in her bag and started searching for the things she needed. He then brought out a small bottle of water and an old bandana that was left in the bag.

"Thanks, Rowlet." Moon said and got the stuff from her partner.

"Kooo." Rowlet said.

Moon, then poured some water on the bandana and started wiping off the blood.

"So...what's your name?" Moon asked, as she kept doing her job.

"What?" The boy asked.

"Your name. What is it? You want to keep me here, I'm tending your wound-"

"You insisted on this one." He interrupted her.

"Whatever. The least you can do is tell me your name." She continued.

The boy was silent for a moment, but later he sighed and said "Gladion."

"Huh?"

"My name's Gladion."

"Gladion. Wow, that's a really nice name." Moon said, but received no answer.

She then turned her attention to Gladion's wound.

"How is it?" Gladion asked.

"It's big, you can see so yourself." She said "Your entire arm is hurt and this will definately leave a scar."

"It won't be the first one..." He said glancing at the other scars on his body.

His pokemon then stood up and walked next to them. It looked at the wound and then at Gladion, making a sad cry.

"Null, it's not your fault..." He said consolingly, petting the pokemon's head.

"But on the bright side, it's not very deep so it doesn't need to be stitched up." Moon said. "Now, let's see..."she muttered as she brought out of her bag some berries, a small bowl and a smasher.

She placed the berries in the bowl and started smashing them.

"So...what exactly happened here?" She asked, trying again to start a conversation.

"That's none of your buisness." Gladion answered bluntly.

"You want to keep me here for an entire day, some time before you were acting really creepy with the red eye and stuff, a table nearly hit my face and when the whole fuss stopped I found you and your pokemon lying on the floor all beat up. So I think that it **is** my buisness." Moon snapped.

The pokemon nodded, showing that it could see her point, and then looked at Gladion.

"Null, stop it." He said.

"Null? That's how you nicknamed your pokemon?" Moon asked surprised.

"That's not a nickname."

"You mean that's what it's actually called?! What kind of person would give a pokemon an official name like that?"

"I can think of a person..."Gladion muttered under his breath.

"Huh? What?"

"Nothing." Gladion replied bluntly.

"Oooookay..." Moon said. "I think it's ready now." she said and stopped smashing the berries, that were now in form of a purple liquid salve.

She then took the bandanna and dipped it in the bowl. She then turned to Gladion with the bandanna at hand.

"All right. This might sting a little, but I need you to hold still." She said and he nodded.

She placed the rag on the wound, but much to her surprise, Gladion barely reacted to the touch. He didn't even wince, he just blinked a bit whenever he felt the sting. As soon as Moon was done with this part too, she got some bandages out of her bag and used them to wrap up his arm.

"Okay, that's it. Now, take it easy and don't do anything reckless." She said as she finished.

He didn't say anything. He just glanced at his wrapped up arm, stood up and walked past Moon.

"You know you could say 'thank you'." Moon said, but she received no answer.

She put her hands on her hips and huffed in exasperation. At the same time, Null was slowly and quietly walking towards her from behind, with his eyes fixed on her bag.

"MOON!" Rotom called out alerting the girl, who turned around to see the large pokemon ready to snatch her bag.

She tried to pull away, but Null's movement was faster and he quickly grabbed the bag.

"HEY! What are you doing?! Let go!" The black-haired girl called out pulling her bag from the pokemon.

"Null, stop!" Gladion yelled and ran towards his pokemon to pull it away, but before he could do so, the large creature pulled the bag away with force and everything that was inside fell out.

Wasting no second, Null grabbed some berries and poke-beans and started eating them. Rowlet started attacking him with peck, enraged that he stole his food, but Null paid little to no attention to him and kept eating. Moon rushed to get Rowlet away, she realizing that the large pokemon just wanted to eat.

"Rowlet, stop this! Don't you remember what kahuna Hala said? Nature's gifts belong to everyone. It's obvious that it's hungry, let it have them, I promise I'll buy you more poke-beans later." Moon said in a calm yet reprimanding tone. She then turned to Gladion "Don't you ever feed your pokemon?" She asked.

"I had to keep him in the pokeball all day today. And he already ate some berries I managed to get." Gladion explained and frowned, thinking that this wouldn't be the first day Null would be hungry.

If what Moon said was true, then there was no way they could escape. Not tommorow, not ever... And Moon was just another problem. He couldn't let her go and tell Aether she found them, but he couldn't keep her in Po Town either. If he did they would go look for her and the town would be the first place to search. While thinking all of this he was taking deep breaths, to calm himself down. He couldn't let what happened before happen twice in a day. His organism wouldn't be able to handle it. And if anything were to happen to him...who was gonna protect and train Null?

In the silence of the room, Gladion wasn't the only one who was thinking.

"Hey!" Moon called out to him, to get his attention "I have a proposition to make."

"What kind of proposition?" He asked without turning to look at her.

"A proposition that will benefit us both." She said, getting the attention of the pokemon too.

"Oh?"

"If you let me go, I promise that I will not tell anyone about you and I will sneak in here every night to bring you and your pokemon food." Moon said as Gladion touched his chin thinking her offer.

Null, who had stopped eating walked up to him and said " _I don't know about you, but I don't plan neither going hungry nor going back there."_

Gladion didn't answer, but he kept thinking. He then turned to Moon and said "Why should I trust that you'll keep your word?"

"Because you don't have a choice." The girl answered with a stern tone.

The boy finally turned to look at her, trying to hide the surprise her answer caused him. It was nearly like she realised what she was thinking.

"Well? What do you say?" She asked again.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	9. Chapter 9: The next morning

Chapter 9: The next morning.

"Moon. MOON! Wake up!" A woman's voice was heard, waking up Moon, who fell out of her bed.

"Wha-what's wrong?" she asked woozily, rubbing her eyes. She raised her head and saw Wicke before her.

"You okay?" She asked as she helped her up.

"Y-yeah, just- just a little shaken up." she answered stretching a bit.

"What time did you go to sleep last night?"

"I...don't really remember. What time is it now?"

"Eleven o'clock."

"ELEVEN?! O-Okay... Let me get changed-"

"Moon, you're already wearing your clothes. Apparently you didn't change last night." Wicke said and Moon took a look at herself.

Wicke was right. She had indeed slept without changing to her pyjamas. And that was understandable given the fact that she had been exhausted after... everything that happened last night.

"Miss Lillie and I just had breakfast. Come on out, you need to eat too." Wicke said as she walked outside.

"Coming in a bit." Moon said and turned to Rowlet, who had fallen asleep on a chair. She gently stroked his head to wake him up as she always did every morning, but this time Rowlet didn't seem to be in the mood of waking up.

And she really couldn't blame him considering last night's events. She sneaked into a ghost town in the middle of the night, found herself face to face with two of the strangest creatures she had ever seen (strange from every angle) and to top it all she promised to keep them a secret. The very thing she was supposed to report if she were to see, now she had promised to keep a secret. Some research that would be.

As Moon made her way outside the trailer, she saw outside of Po Town's walls two tall men, both dressed in the exact same white outfit. Another two were seen walking nearby, and some others (about four or six of them) were walikng towards Route 16.

"They're the people from Aether Paradise." Lillie's voice was heard.

Moon turned around and saw the blond girl with the large bag sitting on the ground on a pick-nick blanket, on which were placed a beautiful porcelain tea set, a plate with some pieces of an oran berry cake, another one with some chocolate cookies and another with a malasada covered in white frosting. Everything looked and smelled so delicious, that Moon could practically hear her stomach scream: "GIMME GIMME GIMME!"

"Lillie. Good moring." Moon said as she took a seat next to her.

"Good morning. Would you like some tea?" She asked.

"Yes, please." the black-haired girl answered.

Lillie then poured some tea in a tea cup and passed it to Moon.

"Thanks." She said as she took a sip. "So, what happened while I was asleep?" She asked as she grabbed the malasada.

"Not much. The people from Aether arrived about an hour ago and are now checking the perimeter." Lillie said and took a sip.

"Did they found anything so far?"

"Not that I know of."

"Well, then I guess we should go check the perimeter as well." Moon said as she finished her malasada and stood up.

At the word 'we', Lillie's eyes widened.

"You coming?" Moon asked as she turned back to Lillie.

"M-me? You want me to search around with you? For that- that pokemon that defeated your Rowlet with one blow?!" Lillie said stuttering.

"Hey, this time we'll be ready. Besides, we'll have pokemon with u-"

"NO! **You** 'll have your pokemon! I don't have any! I'm not a trainer! I simply cannot even bear watching pokemon battles, because I can't see pokemon getting hurt!" Lillie called out, and her bag slightly moved.

"Whoa there, calm down." Moon said "But wait... If you can't bear any of this then why did you come along? Pokemon battling is guaranteed in a mission like thi-"

"I wanted to get away from home for a while!" Lillie called out again and immediately covered her mouth, as her bag moved again.

Lillie held it discretely, to stop it from moving as all eyes turned on her. The blond girl's eyes widened and her face turned white as snow. She swifted her gaze to the people guarding the door, who were now heading towards her, as some of the others were coming to check what she was yelling for. She immediately stood up and ran inside the trailer holding her bag tight.

"What happened to Miss Lillie?" One of the Aether employees asked.

"I don't know..." Moon answered worried that it was her fault.

"Everyone, back at your posts. I'll check on Miss Lillie." Wicke said dismissing the employees.

"Miss Wicke?" Moon called, getting the purple-haired woman's attention. "Do you know what happened to Lillie? Is it my fault?"

"Miss Lillie... is a very delicate girl... She has... been through a lot and... I'm sorry, but it's not my place to say anything else. But don't you worry about this. I'll talk to her. For now you should probably go search around as well." Wicke said as she walked back into the trailer.

When she opened the door, Rowlet flew outside and landed on Moon's shoulder. The little owl pokemon gently nudged his trainer's face, as she stroked his cheeks.

"Just in time, little buddy." Moon said, trying to form a smile.

"Kooo?" Rowlet questioned as he realized that something was troubling his trainer.

"It's nothing, Rowlet. I'm fine really." She said in an attempt to reassure her partner. "Let's go. We've got work to do." She said as she started walking around, pretending to be looking around for the pokemon, while she was actually watching where and how the Aether employees were moving.

She had to learn their movements if she was to keep her promise and sneak into the town without being spotted. Speaking of the town, looking at the gates she noticed something: The lock of Po Town. It looked perfectly new. When she had tried to lock the gates last night, she was sleepy and dizzy and she had damaged it by mistake. So how didn't it look like that? Someone had changed it. It couldn't be explained otherwise. And Moon thought that she might had an idea of who had changed it.

"Rowlet, I believe we should pay Kahuna Nanu a visit." She said.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	10. Chapter 10: A talk with the Kahuna

**Alola! After about two months I'm back! Missed me? Because, I honestly missed writing so much! Good thing I'm back in buisness with new chapters coming slowly. I'll do my best to keep my updates once a week, but (since I'm a stupid person who can barely stick to a schedule, so :P to me) I can't make any promises. Either way, I hope, you'll like this chapter!**

Chapter 10: A talk with the Kahuna.

Moon made her way towards Route 17, until she reached the Ula-Ula police department, where Kahuna Nanu was living. She knocked, hoping that she'd receive a response. When no one answered she knocked again, louder.

"Kahuna Nanu! I need to talk to you!" Moon called, still knocking.

Suddenly a strange noise was heard from inside. And then a loud combination of... meowing? Moon, hoping that the Kahuna wouldn't mind, opened the door and came face to face with a horde of Alolan meowths (that explained the meowing). The expecting faces of the fluffy mob were replaced in a moment's notice by wide smiles and bright eyes. Before Moon could react in any way, all of them had rushed directly at her and Rowlet and covered them completely. Their intentions weren't hostile. Quite the contrary. It seemed that they wanted to play. The way they were playing though, wasn't exactly pleasant. How pleasant is having an entire horde of fur-balls, biting, scratching and running all over you?

"Uuhhh... Hello? Kahuna Nanu! A-a little help! Are you even there?!" Moon called out, trying to free herself from the meowth-tower that was covering her.

"You really had to come now, Noise?" a voice was heard, coming from inside the police station, getting the everyone's attention. Soon Kahuna Nanu emerged "Seriously, I just had them-" Upon seeing the meowth-tower, and who was inside it he stopped. "Oh, sorry I thought you were someone else." He said and turned back inside.

"H-HEY! You can't just leave me here! I have to talk to you! NOW! It's important!" the black-haired girl called out to him again, still trying to get herself out.

A soft sound was then heard from inside and all of the meowths turned their attention towards it.

"All right everyone, get off the girl. I got you food inside." The Kahuna said as he came out again and the meowths immediately got off Moon and Rowlet and ran inside, meowing in glee.

"Thank you, Kahuna Nanu." Moon said as she stood up and dusted herself off a bit. "And I'm really sorry for yelling like that before, but-"

"What do you want?" He cut her off, but without sounding harsh or rude.

"What?"

"Just tell me what you want, so we can get this over with." He said simply.

For a brief moment, Moon looked at him with bewilderment. She honestly didn't see that coming. She expected that he would at least let her apologize. But since she knew that the Ula Ula Kahuna wasn't famous for staying in a conversation for long, she really had to get this over with.

"I, um, wanted to ask you about... the pokemon of Po Town." She said in the end.

Nanu didn't say anything. He just turned around to walk back inside the police department.

"You coming, kid?" He asked, looking at Moon over his shoulder.

The girl nodded and with her pokemon flying behind her, she followed him inside.

The police station seemed to be really tidied, even with all those meowths around. Speaking of them, they were scattered all around, eating from small bowls. The Kahuna and Moon walked past them, to Nanu's desk. He sat there and motioned to Moon to sit on a chair in front of it.

"So... what do you want to know?" He asked.

"I... I've been in Po Town last night." Moon answered.

"Yeah, I saw that. So?"

"I...Wait a sec, you saw me?" Moon asked surprised "Then why- How come you didn't say or do anything?"

"What was I supposed to do? Wasn't this what you wanted to find? I just thought that if you did, you and those Aether fellas might be on your way and leave me alone..." Nanu said simply.

This whole talk had barely begun, but Moon was more confused than she was before. On the one hand, it seemed like the Kahuna was trying to hide Gladion and Null, but on the other... did he want them to be found?

"I won't tell you."

"What?" Moon asked, as Nanu's words brought her out of her thoughts.

"You wanted to ask me about them, right? About those two pokemon?"

"Two pokemon?" The surprise and the confusion Moon was feeling just got bigger with only a few words. "No, it's-it's only one pokem-"

"You talking about the creature in the mask, aren't you?" Nanu cut her off.

"Yes."

"Well, that **is** a pokemon, all right. But the other one? If you wouldn't call it a pokemon... what would you call it?"

Moon was about to answer, when she noticed something in the Kahuna's words.

"Why did you call him an 'it'?" She questioned.

"You just called it a 'him'..." He said. And hidden behind the tone of his voice was a thought. _Interesting..._

"Kahuna, I asked you a question!" Moon said getting tired of this.

"I asked you a question too. And you didn't answer. So let's try this again. If you wouldn't call it a pokemon, what would you call it?"

The black-haired girl fell into deep thought for a moment, trying to find an answer. But she honestly couldn't think of anything. At first she thought that Gladion was a pokemon, then she thought he was a boy, a human boy, but... after she fully saw him...

"I-I... I don't know..." She confessed shaking her head. "I don't know what he is..."

For a moment, Nanu seemed to be in deep thought as well.

"You did it again." He said finally.

"Did what?" She asked.

"You said 'what **he** is.'." The kahuna answered. "Why do you keep calling it 'he', if you don't know what it is?"

Of all the questions from before, this had to be the one that caught the girl the most off guard. This was another question she really didn't know how to answer.

"Why do you ask?" She said in the end.

"Because, like you, I'm intrigued."He answered. "People tend to call an 'it' anything that's different or anything they can't understand. But you... you found something you can't explain, something you can't even understand and you refer to it as a person. Not as a thing. So, I'm gonna ask you again, and if you give me a satisfying answer, I might tell you a little something. Why do you keep calling it 'he', if you don't know what he is?"

Moon swallowed a lump in her throat after the Kahuna finished. She had right now one chance to actually learn something about the mystery surrounding the creatures behind Po Town's walls. She couldn't waste it. She released a breath she didn't realise that she was holding, before she answered.

"Because I don't know what else to call him. I wouldn't say he's a pokemon, but... he's not exactly a human either, I suppose. And to be honest, I think he's kinda... scary. Perhaps scarier than his pokemon. Still though, I can't call him an 'it'. It just feels... wrong." She said, hoping she made clear how much she meant her words.

The room was silent for a while. Every second of the silence was one drip of sweat running across Moon's face as she awaited for his response. In the meantime, Rowlet had landed on her lap, slightly rubbing his head against her, in an attempt to ease her.

"Not sure if that's what I expected to hear, but..." The Kahuna said in the end "it **is** something."

"So that means... you'll tell me?" Moon asked with a glint of excitement in her eyes and Nanu nodded.

"I caught those two sneaking around here about two years ago. They both fought me, and I must confess, they really pack a punch. In the end though, we came to a stop and to an agreement."

"What kind of agreement?"

"I offered them a place. That place was Po Town. That is all."

"You offered them Po Town... in exchange for what? You said that you came to an agreement!" Moon said completely unsatisfied. "And-and that's not all! The gates! I damaged the lock last night, but this morning it was perfectly new! You changed it, I know you did! You didn't offer the Town to them! You hid them there! No, you imprisoned them! Didn't you?!"

It wasn't until she stopped talking, that she realised that she was yelling and that she had stood up and slammed her hands on Nanu's desk. Her face turned red from the regret and the embarassment. However, Nanu hadn't moved an inch.

He simply shook his head and said "What do you really know of those two?"

"What?" Moon asked surprised.

"Has... **he** told you anything? About before?" He asked again.

"Before...?"

"Before Po Town."

"N-no..." Moon said, slightly bowing her head.

"Well, then I can't tell you anything else." He said standing up.

"But, why?"

"If you really want to know, you must ask him."

"Kahuna-" Moon's tone was nearly pleading.

"There are some things about others we all should respect. And those things include, things they want to hide."

"Things they want to... hide?"

"Don't you have such things?" Nanu asked.

The moment the question left his mouth, Moon's eyes widened as a series of memories flashed before her eyes with breakneck speed...

* * *

 _I love you, my Moon._

 _Can I come with you?_

 _We have to get out of here!_

 _I-I can't see her! Where is she?!_

 _Mommy!_

 _Get her out of here!_

 _What about-_

 _Let me go!_

 _NOOOO!_

 _Stay away from me! All of you!_

 _LEAVE ME ALONE!_

* * *

"I...I have to go... Thank you..." Moon said and ran outside.

As soon as she got out, she slammed the door behind her and ran towrds Route 16, as tears that were pricking her eyes were quickly blinked away. She finally stopped and sat on the wooden brigde above the red flowers that were all around the Route. Their sweet scent and Rowlet's prescence in her arms caling her down.

"Kooo..." Rowlet said worriedly looking at his trainer with empathy.

"I'm... I'm okay now, buddy. Thanks. Thank you. For... for everything..." She said, feeling indeed a little better. She turned her head towards Route 17. "Apparently, this place has a lot more secrets than we imagined."

"Kooo?" Rowlet sounded unsure. After what he saw before, he didn't want to see his trainer like this. Not again. After all this time.

"I'm fine, really." She reassured him and stood up. "Come on. If I recall, I have a promise to keep."

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please review :)**


	11. Chapter 11: Friends

**Finally! Super sorry for the super late update guys, but I was suffering from Writer's Block (still struggling a little...). I honestly struggled a lot with this chapter, but I hope that the result is worth the wait. Also, just for the record, slight hurt/comfort towards the end of this chapter, you've been warned. On to the story!**

Chapter 11: Friends

The rest of the day went by rather quickly, to the point that Moon didn't realize when the sunset came. After her talk with Kahuna Nanu, she went to find some berries for Gladion and Null. She also managed to grab a little something from the lunch break. The remaining problem was how would she sneak in the Town to deliver the goods to them. She had seen how the Aether employees were moving and she couldn't detect any way she could sneak in without at least one of them noticing her. Her only hope seemed to lie to the help of a pokémon, which again was leading to a dead end, since Rowlet didn't know any move that could help her, such as teleport or feint attack, and she couldn't find any pokémon who did, because, honestly, there were barely any pokémon around there.

"Moon." A voice was heard, making the girl jump.

She turned around and saw Lillie poking her head out of the trailer with a shy expression on her face.

"Oh, sorry if I scared you, but… Professor Kukui called and he wants to talk to you." Lillie said and quickly went back inside.

Hearing her, the black-haired girl went inside, her partner flying behind her.

"Professor!" She called happily when she saw his image in the computer.

"Kooo!" Rowlet chimed in equally happy.

"Alola! How are you guys doing?" He asked.

"We're fine! How about you? How's your foot?" Moon asked concerned.

"You worry too much, I'm fine. It itches a bit from time to time, but other than that… can't complain. In a few days, I'll be out." The Professor explained. "But enough about me. How were your first days in the mission?"

"Uhh… Well, they… could have been better…" Moon said and told him what happened the last two days (of course excluding her little trip in Po Town and her meeting with Kahuna Nanu.).

"So, now you stay here and wait until it comes back?" Professor Kukui said after she was done.

"Yeah… but we still haven't seen anything and neither have Lusamine and Mr. Faba. Otherwise they would have gave us a call." The black-haired girl answered.

"Come on, that pokémon wouldn't be found in just one day if it was able to hide for so long. Have a little patience." He said encouragingly.

"As long as Mr. Faba isn't around, I have all the patience of the world." Moon joked and shared a laugh with the Professor and her partner. However, she heard someone else laugh too.

She turned around and saw that it was Lillie, who immediately ran to the other part of the trailer, where the bedroom the two girls shared with Wicke was.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The Professor asked, noticing that Moon was looking elsewhere.

"It's nothing, I just…" Moon said, as a regretful expression appeared in her face. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I gotta go now. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay, then. Alola!" he said and hung up.

Moon then stood up and went to the door that lead to the bedroom. She hesitated for a moment, but then she knocked.

"Can-can I come in?" She asked

"Yes." Lillie said.

Moon walked inside, still with a regretful expression, and saw Lillie sitting on her bed. She was holding her hat in her hands and was staring at it with an unreadable expression.

"H-hey… What's up?" She said, trying to force a smile, Lillie still not looking at her.

"F-fine…" The blonde girl said, her voice low and careful.

"You sure? I haven't seen you since breakfast…" Moon said as her smile faded.

Lillie didn't say anything. She just tightened her grip on her hat.

"A-about that… I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." Moon said carefully like Lillie did before. "I'm really sorry if I said anything that upset you. I didn't mean to-"

"I implore you, stop." Lillie suddenly spoke, keeping her head and her tone low.

Moon looked at her carefully and noticed that she was quivering slightly. The black-haired girl exchanged a confused and worried look with her pokémon and came to sit next to Lillie.

"Look… If you don't want to talk, then I'm not gonna urge you or anything." She said, her voice echoing sincerity "I'm not being nosy and I don't want to gossip either, I just want to know if there's something that's upsetting you and if I can do anything to help." Moon took a deep breath before she continued, feeling unsure about what she was about to say next. "I… I know what it's like… having something troubling you and… not wanting to talk about it, but sometimes… sometimes things seem a little better if you talk about it with someone who is willing to help you."

Lillie was still not looking at Moon, but she didn't seem to quiver anymore. There was a moment of silence, before Lillie sighed and placed her hat on the bed.

"Do you… promise that you will never tell anyone about this?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You can count on me." Moon said (If she could keep secret the two strange creatures that were hiding in Po Town and were now waiting for her to bring them food, she could keep anything a secret.).

"You see… I love pokémon very much. Ever since I was little my… my Mother was letting me play with them all the time. Whether they were her own pokémon or rescued pokémon." Lillie said, as a small laugh escaped her throat as she was talking, remembering the fondness of those moments. "But one day… when I went to find her pokémon and play with them… she told me that I couldn't, because… all of them were seriously hurt. I asked her what happened and… she told me that… that she met some trainers while she was out and she had a battle with them, but they… they were so…" At this point her voice started cracking. She clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"They weren't pulling any punches, were they?" Moon asked consolingly.

Lillie nodded. "It took some time, but thank goodness they were all fine in the end. However, ever since that day, I couldn't even think of watching a pokémon battle. Where pokémon were getting hurt. And for some time… I was despising pokémon trainers, because I thought that all of them were just as inconsiderate as the ones that attacked my b- my Mother's pokémon." She slightly bowed her head, feeling ashamed of that last part.

"So… what made you change your mind?" Moon asked.

"Wicke introduced me to some people and… I saw how much they loved and cared for pokémon of any kind. No matter what they were: Their own, someone else's, wild, they were all the same in their eyes." A smile was now making its way to her face. "And they were also inspiring other trainers be like this, even… giving them their first pokémon."

"So those people… were they the island Kahunas?"

"Yes. They… they really helped me see that nothing is one-sided. That everything and everyone have many different sides…" Lillie let out a silent sigh, before she continued "And that there's goodness in everyone."

Moon smiled at her answer. "See?"

"What?" Lillie asked.

"Don't you feel better now that you talked about it?"

The blonde girl seemed unsure. "I suppose…" She said "But please, don't tell anyone about this. Especially for my meeting with the Kahunas. Mother mustn't know…" The last sentence escaped her mouth without her realizing it, but luckily for her it came out as a barely audible whisper.

"I told you, you can count on me. What are friends for?" Moon said.

Lillie barely held back a gasp. She slowly turned around to face Moon, her expression full of surprise and disbelief.

"F-friends?" She asked "You… you really consider me… a friend?"

"Uh, yes. Why wouldn't I?" The black-haired girl replied with a smile, though she was pretty surprised by her reaction.

Lillie lowered her face a little again, clearly unsure. It almost looked like she was afraid to believe that someone just called her 'friend'.

"A-are you okay?" Moon asked.

"It's just… I-I…" Lillie was hesitant before, but now she seemed scared. "I never had a friend. Not since…"

Moon remembered now. "Since you lost touch with your old friend?" She asked her voice a mixture of understanding, surprise and a sad realization.

Lillie nodded, looking like she was at the verge of breaking into tears.

Moon placed a hand on her shoulder. Lillie turned to look at her and even though she expected to see pity, she saw understanding. She expected to see a frown, but instead she saw a smile, a friend's smile.

She expected someone to tell her 'Don't cry.' But all that she heard was 'You can cry. It's okay.'

And she did.

Moon wrapped her arms around her and started rubbing gentle circles around her back. Not because she was told to, not because she pitied her. But because she chose to and she understood her. Lillie suddenly muttered something through her sobs, something that Moon couldn't understand.

"What did you say?" She asked her.

"I-I…I miss him…" Lillie said again more clearly, tears still running down her face.

"It's okay. I know…" Moon said consolingly.

As Lillie kept crying, Moon was hugging her and talking to her. At first providing her comfort, and later, as Lillie was getting calmer, just saying silly stuff about herself, her life, her family and friends and then Lillie started talking too.

Soon they were engaged in a friendly conversation, keeping away anything that was painful to both of them and just enjoying each other's company.

But little did they know, there were being watched. By a woman with a fond smile who overheard them for a minute, and by something that was hiding in Lillie's bag.

 **That is all for now! I own nothing. Please review. :)**


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